Think myth come to life; old folk tales updated; the consequences of tomb raiding; hidden guardians and secret civilisations; from archaeology to tourism; mysticism and myth; folklore to the fantastical. Take us on a journey around the esoteric and enigmatic places that cannot fail to fire the imagination. Intrigue us, thrill us, make us wonder about the where, the what and the who.

We are interested in fantasy, sf, weird and horror tales of all kinds. (No erotica, romance or poetry.)

THE ALCHEMY PRESS BOOK OF ANCIENT WONDERS will be a paperback to be published in September 2012, to be followed by an eBook edition. Successful contributors will receive a copy of the book and a £10.00 advance against royalties on publication. We are after original fiction; but reprints will be considered if they are exceptional. No simultaneous or multiple submissions. We will only accept electronic submissions as email attachments in standard MS format, .rtf, .doc or .docx. Any submissions included in the body of the email will be rejected unread. The subject line should take the form “Title/author’s name” (i.e. The Hobbit/ JRR Tolkien). Contributions must be in the range of 2,000-6,000 words firm, with full contact details on the front page. The submission period runs from April 1st to June 30th 2012. Do not submit outside those dates. No acceptances or rejections will be made until after the deadline; we will endeavour to report back to you six to eight weeks after that. If you have heard nothing after nine weeks you may query at the email address below.

Do the editors prefer to receive a pitch for the story we plan to write prior to actually submitting an entire completed story? Or is it okay to simply pen an entire short story and submit it sans an initial pitch?

The Alchemy Press

British independent press: The Alchemy Press, run by Peter Coleborn. I have edited and produced titles for the British Fantasy Society (including Dark Horizons, Winter Chills and Chills). I have chaired both the BFS and the annual British Fantasy Convention. I write fiction, reviews, edit manuscripts (including line edits) for other writers, co-created and chair a writers' group. In 2009 I sat as one of the judges for the prestigious World Fantasy Awards ... And I also take photographs.